I am having a hard time deciding on which scope to buy.I want to get the Nikon Buckmaster or the Bushnell 3200 illuminated, both 3x9x40, and both are the same price.Of THESE two which would be recommended?Mostly used for north east deer hunting on a .308.Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Welcome to OT, I have a Nikon Buckmaster 4-12X50 on my old 30.06. It is a decent scope. Of those two I would get the Nikon. However, I would strongly recommend you stepping up and getting a Bushnell Elite 4200 3-9X40 for $100 more. That would be a serious step up in optics and well worth the extra money. You will not be sorry for spending the extra money. Good luck.

I have a Nikon Monarch 2.5X8 & an Elite 4200 3X9!............You can`t go wrong with either of your two choices! But, for the same price, I would prefer the 3200. If you feel that your hunting will be before or after normal hunting hours under dark conditions, the 3200 w/firefly would be the better choice (comes with a free flashlite too)...........In my view, the glass on the 3200 would be about the same as the Buckmaster. And certainly with the Rainguard (same as on the 4200), you can be rest assured that you will never lose a shot because of any weather condition. Your lenses will always remain clear!...........Have you looked through both yet? If not, that is what you should do if possible. In any event, I`d go with the 3200!

+10 for the DrakeTaker!!!..................If you can, go with the Elite 4200 in the 3X9!!,,,,,I gots one!!!.....The optics on the 4200 for clarity and resolution = the Zeiss Conquest. Though the Zeiss is a fraction brighter, it won`t make any difference in the hunting fields. Also, I found its optics to be slightly better than the VX111........At $259, on this site if I`m not mistaken, the Elite 4200 is the best value for the dollar on the market. At that price, when you consider its construction, durability, quality in optics and the Rainguard, no other scope for the money will exceed the Elite 4200! ................IMO, better to go with better optics and forego the firefly!

Be sure and get good base and rings and mount or have the scope properly mounted on you rifle, lots of discussion on the board here on mounting scopes. If it is off just a little the shot will be off a lot at distance.

Welcome to optics talk a lot of good info available here from good people

I will look into the 4200, but I was planning on buying the scope in the next two days for the weekend.So unfortunately I canít get it online.At the local hunting/ shooting retailers they have the 3200 and the Buckmaster in stock.I will expand my search for the 4200 and if it is priced reasonable I will get it.As a back up, which is better the 3200 or Buckmaster.Thanks to all who replied.

Just my 2 cents but I would call SWFA ( provides this site) and see if you can get it shipped if you get the buckmaster or 3200 then look through the 4200 or Monarch you will not be happy there is a big difference & and I own a buckmaster and a Monarch. The Monarch and 4200 are much better for the money.

Snafu...............Welcome aboard!..... Along with our advice regarding a poster`s original choices, we sometimes offer additional alternatives and explain why. Maybe we can suggest better alternatives that were not thought of by the poster. If those alternatives work better, then all the more reason to suggest them!.....If someone`s choice is at a certain price point and for an additional $50 or $100, they can buy a better product that is well worth the increase, I for one will suggest that product and explain why. Then it is their decision as to what they select..... If I were a poster seeking advice, I would want as many alternatives as possible. Just maybe, the advice I received would be better than my own original plan and therefore better for me in the long run!!!

Great point squeeze, when I first came to this site, I was interested in buying a Nikon Monarch or a Luepold vxIII. The Zeiss Conquest was mentioned to me, as an alternative, then eventually Kahles was mentioned to me. (whom I had never heard of before b/c I was a noobie before I started to learn on here) I went with Kahles, and have never looked back.

yep, I agree. but since he seems to have expected members to recommend other stuff, he capitalized his request...

anyway, thanks for the welcome. I found this board when I was looking into SS variables... Now after finding this place, I discovered Falcon Optics... but their variables aren't available yet... and neither is SS.... doh !!

You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot create polls in this forumYou cannot vote in polls in this forum